Cellometer helps to elucidate underlying mechanism of hypomyelination

Vanderbilt University researchers sought to evaluate the role of mTor signaling during myelination. Other work suggests that myelin abnormalities may be distinct from cortical lesions, and these scientists investigated the underlying mechanisms of hypomyelination to support or refute the other data. Primary astrocytes from knock out mouse pups were isolated to ascertain whether the astroglyosis seen in these mouse models is a specific or non-specific consequence of altered oligodendrocyte structure. Cellometer analyzed spherical size of these cells during experimentation. Although the findings suggest it is a nonspecific response, more study is clearly needed. These findings also suggest a dissociation between the mTor signaling pathway investigated here and previously established lines of thinking in the hypomyelination realm.